The present invention relates to a combination of a tire carrying rim seated and locked by fastening assemblies on a vehicle wheel. A combination of dual inner and outer tire carrying rims may be mounted on a vehicle wheel without using a separating means, such as an annular spacer.
Prior art patents particularly relevant to rims, wheels and fastening assemblies according to the invention include references cited during the pendency of United States Application Ser. No. 529,504. Other prior art relating to tire carrying rims demountably carried on vehicle wheels includes patents to be found in Class 301 beginning with Subclass 10R. Other relevant patents may be found in Class 152, Subclasses 406X et seq.
The accurate mounting of tire carrying rims on the felloe, felly or load-bearing portion of a wheel has long been a problem in the art. Vehicle operators and industry regulations seek longer tire life and complete safety in operation, even under the most severe of vehicle operating conditions. The tire manufacturers are endeavoring to provide tires which have optimum performance characteristics, including lateral and radial balance. Consequently, it is being required that this art provide elements, the wheels, the rims, and fastening assemblies therefor, which do not deteriorate, hinder or impair the projected performance characteristics of the tires.
Heretofore, the spoked wheel structure of a tire-rim-wheel assembly has been regarded primarily as a load carrying element attached to an axle of the vehicle and carrying the rim. The periphery of the wheel had felly surfaces to pilot or guide the rim into approximate mounting position. Thereafter, fastening assemblies were torqued down or tightened in such a manner that the tire carrying rim would not come loose from the wheel during use. If done correctly, as by an expert and conscientious mechanic, the prior art rim mounting techniques would not deteriorate, hinder or impair the performance characteristics of the tires. However, environmental or extrinsic factors such as warpage, deformation or damage to the rim and spacer or wear of the fastening assemblies could lead to relative displacement or non-alignment of the assembly components during fastening, creating conditions of what are now commonly referred to as excessive lateral (axial) or radial runout or an imbalance of the tire-rim-wheel assembly during vehicle operation.
This application, and the referenced prior applications, provide the art with various embodiments of edge lugged rims and fastening assemblies therefor which, when used with the wheel adapted thereto, positively control and reduce lateral (axial) and radial runout, resist rim warpage and deformation, restrict or lock out the possibility of rim rotation relative to the wheel and provide better balance for the tire-rim-wheel assembly during vehicle operation.
This application, and the referenced prior applications, also provide the art with complete interchangeability of a particular rim embodiment with either a single or dual wheel adapted thereto. So long as the wheels and a particular rim embodiment are matched according to the subject matter disclosure, a rim can be used as either inner or outer dual.
The referenced prior applications disclose wheels with radially inclined single or inner dual wheel felloe surfaces. It has now been found that the same improved results can be achieved without the use of radially inclined wheel felloe surfaces while maintaining the advantages of complete rim interchangeability, for use as either a single or inner or outer dual. This improved subject matter concept permits the use of a lighter weight, less expensive wheel and is thought to be particularly efficient or effective when relatively light clamp lugs attached to the rim base edge portion are piloted by axially oriented wheel felloe surfaces or axially oriented fastening assembly surfaces during tightening of the fastening assemblies and mating engagement with mounting surfaces. As a result, this application discloses various embodiments of middle range tire-rim-wheel assemblies useful in light or medium duty vehicle applications.